Churches & Chapels

The village Tala is 8km to the north of Pafos, 4km to the north of Emba, with the monastery, Agios Neofytos, lying 2km to the north-east. Set in the hills of Paphos its altitude ranges from 150m to 600m, with an average of 280m.

Tala receives an average annual rainfall of about 520mm allowing it to grow wine-making and table grapes, citrus fruits (orange, lemon trees), locust, olive, almond, and walnut trees, cereals, forage plants, vegetables, and a few banana trees.

The village is placed in the area of the underground water stratum of Pafos. Quite a few drills have been dug in its region, contributing to the irrigation of considerable tracts of land. Tala is also included among the villages that have benefited from the irrigation project of Pafos with the irrigation of a range of 40 acres of land by the Asprokremmos dam. In the census of 2001 the permanent inhabitants of Tala, including Kamares, totalled 2540

The village is not mentioned in mediaeval sources. However its name is considered to originate from the Frankish era, from the surname of a large and wealthy family, that of the D’Avila family. This family is mentioned as “Tavila” by the Cypriot mediaeval chronographers. It is believed that the surname Tavila gave the village its name.

Tala is not mentioned as belonging to the D’Avila family by the sources. However it is probable that it was a property of the family since some members of it possibly owned it, such as Francesco D’Avila that De Masse Latri mentions as one of the richest noblemen in Cyprus, or Peter D’Avila who – in 1473 – became Lord Chamberlain of Cyprus and took land properties in the district of Pafos, or even Anthony D’Avila who served as Governor of Pafos.

An important mediaeval monument of the village is the church of Agia Ekaterini (St. Catherine) of the 15th/16th century. Besides, quite close to the village stands the monastery of Agios Neofytos, which certainly had a significant influence on some aspects of village life. Concerning Agios Neofytos (indeed a whole page could be attributed to this Saint) it is said that when he returned from Palestine he brought with him a tree that can not be found anywhere else in the entire island and even the whole of the Middle East. The tree’s name is Kapnismata (latin name being Liquidambar Styraciflua, but literally meaning ‘smoke’ or ‘incense’), it does not surpass a height of 10m, it excretes a resin that can be burned as an incence (as opposed to frankincense). A uniqueness surrounds these trees as despite efforts to the contrary they can not be successfully growth outside of the Stephanou region of Tala.

South of the village there are indications for the existence of an archaeological area from the Prehistoric times.

Because of Tala unique mountainous environment with uninterrupted views to the sea the village has taken the initiative to develop its housing with many tourist villages, in particular Kamares and Stephane village, representing.

Churches & Chapels

Church of Agia Ekateriny

The Church of Agia Ekateriny is of the single-aisle type with a dome. Its external measurements are 18.70m X 8.05m without the apse. Today’s church is the result of an expansion and a retrofit of an older church that was arch-covered and had a lesser length, a part of which is embodied in the west arch of the church. To make the retrofit of the initial church, the apse and a part of the north and south walls were demolished and the single aisle with the dome was added.

A segment of the original church measuring 8.05m X 8.70m is extant. In the centre of the west wall stands the original gate, while the south gate of the initial church was walled up and two new ones were opened in the south wall, one in the west and the other in the east of the initial entrance. The church has a small, rectangular window in the north wall and a narrow gap for illumination in the semicircular apse. There also are four small windows in the dome. The dome is relatively large, while the south and north arcs -that along with the arches support the dome internally -do not appear externally either as semi-circles or pediments as usual. Instead they end in a straight segment that rises as the Greek capital letter Π (P) in the south and north wall.

The original church seems to have been decorated with frescos. Out of these frescos one can distinguish, under the whitewash of the western wall, pieces of a large representation of the Second Coming.

The original church was built in the 15th century and took its present form in the middle of the 16th century

Chapel of Agios Georgios

The country church of Agios Georgios (St. George) is found in the Stefane region, which according to various available sources is the old village Stefanos that existed in the area. The existence of this village is apparent in the 1573 mapping of Cyprus. At the ruins of the country church it is shown that another church, dedicated to Agios Stefanos (St. Stephen), existed formerly. The country church was re-erected in 1990 by the Holly Monastery of Agios Neofytos (to which the church belongs) and with donations of the inhabitants of the community, both local and foreign. Christenings take place in the country church and every Easter Tuesday, as well as on the 23rd of April and 3rd of November (St. George’s days), a liturgy is conducted.

Chapel of Agioi Saranta

The country church of Agioi Saranta was in ruins until 1994. It was re-erected with expenses paid by the Holly See of Paphos and through donations of the region’s inhabitants. Christenings take place in the country church and on the Saints’ day of Agioi Saranta a liturgy is conducted.

Chapel of Agia Marina

It is the most recent country church of the community and was built after a donation by the princess Zena Kanther Detira who is a native of Tala and has made many donations throughout all of Cyprus. Today the country church is being renovated by the inhabitants of the community. A liturgy takes place on the 17th of July, which is the day of St. Marina.